Sperm donation laws vary by country. Most countries have laws to cover sperm donations which, for example, place limits on how many children a sperm donor may give rise to, or which limit or prohibit the use of donor semen after the donor has died, or payment to sperm donors. Other laws may restrict use of donor sperm for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, which may itself be banned or restricted in some way, such as to married heterosexual couples, banning such treatment to single women or lesbian couples. Donated sperm may be used for insemination (whether natural or artificial) or as part of IVF treatment. Notwithstanding such laws, informal and private sperm donations take place, which are largely unregulated.
Restrictions on sperm donations or the ability to obtain IVF treatment in some jurisdictions has given rise to women traveling to a country which does not impose restrictions in the circumstances in which they finds themselves to obtain such donations or treatments, in a practice called fertility tourism.
Regulation of sperm donations
Number of donations Most jurisdictions limit the number of children a sperm donor may give rise to. The main reason to limit sperm donations is the risk of accidental consanguinity or inbreeding between donor offspring.
Recipients Many countries have restrictions on who can be a recipient of donated sperm. Some countries restrict donations to married heterosexual couples (e.g., Japan), and some to married heterosexual or homosexual couples, while others permit donations to married couples or those in cohabitation relationships. In some jurisdictions such as France, single women and lesbian couples have only been able to receive treatments using donor sperm since 2021.
Rights of donor The rights of the sperm donor also vary. These involve rights to compensation, anonymity, parental rights, child support obligations, besides other issues.
Overview
Sperm donation is illegal in many predominantly Muslim countries, as sperm donation is prohibited under Islamic law because it is considered a form of adultery. Such countries include Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Country Donor payment Children per donor Donor anonymity Allowed recipients Australia No Australian Capital Territory: No data New South Wales: 5 familiesSperm Donors Australia, Legalities and Requirements Northern Territory: No data Queensland: No data South Australia: 10 families Tasmania: No data Victoria: 10 families Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008 Western Australia: 5 families No EveryoneAustria Varies 3 families No Married heterosexual or homosexual couples Belgium No data 6 families Required (unless a family member is used) No dataBulgariaExpenses5 childrenYesEveryone Canada No No enforced national limit Allowed Everyone China Varies 5 families Yes Married heterosexual couples Cyprus Expenses No data Yes Heterosexual couples and single women Denmark 200–500 DKK 12 families Allowed EveryoneFinland€32.40 per donation, roughly €324 total and expenses5 familiesRequires ID release at 18Everyone France No 10 children Requires ID release at 18 No data Germany Varies No enforced national limit Requires ID release at 18 Usually married heterosexual couples Hong Kong No data 3 childrenHuman Reproduction Technology Ordinance No data Married heterosexual couples with age restrictions Iran Varies No enforced national limit Yes Married couplesIsrael Allowed 12 families Required Everyone Italy No 10 children Yes Married heterosexual couples Greece 10 children Japan No No enforced national limit; guidelines recommend 10 births per donor精子・卵子・胚の提供等による生殖補助医療のあり方についての報告書 Yes Legal Married heterosexual couples with age restrictionsMexicoNoNo enforced national limitRequiredEveryone Netherlands Expenses 12 families No Everyone New Zealand Expenses 5 families No Everyone Norway Expenses 6 families No Everyone Portugal €43.88 per donation 10 families No, child may have name when 18 years old Everyone Spain No data 6 children Required Everyone Sweden 300 SEK 12 children to 6 families (2 per family) No Married or in cohabitation Switzerland Expenses 8 children No Married couples Taiwan 8000-99000 NT 1 family Yes Married couplesUkraine Allowed No enforced national limit Required Heterosexual couples and single women United Kingdom £35 to cover expenses 10 families in UK. Exports subject to national limits No Everyone United States of America Allowed No enforced national limit. 25 families in Colorado. Exports allowed. Allowed federally. Oregon and Colorado require ID release at 18. Everyone
By country
Australia Laws relating to assisted reproduction vary between states. Since 1995, when a child becomes an adult, they can apply for the sperm donor's details. Sperm donors are not paid. Demand is high for donor sperm, and laws vary between states as to how many families a donor's sperm can be provided to. In Victoria, there is a limit of 10 families per donor. In Western Australia, the Human Reproductive Technology Act 1991 (HRT Act) limits the number of families for each donor to 5. New South Wales has a limit of 5 families per donor in the state.
High demand for donor sperm results in much of the sperm available in Australia being imported.
Belgium There is no limit to the number of children born from each donor, however they can only donate to a maximum of six families.
Canada There is no upper limit to the number of donor offspring in Canada, but sperm banks generally follow the same recommendations as in the US, i.e. a maximum of 25 offspring per population of 800,000.Women shopping for super sperm Sue Montgomery, CanWest News Service; Montreal Gazette. Published: Saturday, December 10, 2005
The Assisted Human Reproduction Act banned compensation for sperm donors and imposed a bureaucratic system described as "cumbersome" on donors, after which time more than 90% of donor sperm used in Canada comes from the U.S. The federal government does not track the number of births by sperm or egg donation, and there is no registry.
Denmark In Denmark, one donor may give rise to 12 children. Before the new limit was set a donor could help to conceive children in up to 25 families who could use the donor sperm for conceiving siblings even after the limit was reached.
However, Denmark also exports semen worldwide, and where it is the limit of the importing country that is followed, or, when there is no such limit, a fixed amount considering that country's total population, in order to minimise the risk of consanguinity.
Through the export it may result in that some single donors have up to 200 biological children worldwide who are genetic half-siblings.
France In France, donations from a single donor may give rise to a maximum of 10 children. All new gamete donors must be open ID at 18. Donor conceived people may request information or get the donor name when they reach 18 years of age.
Germany The German Legislation provides that a donor may not produce more than fifteen children through his donations.
Israel In Israel, sperm donation is regulated by the Ministry of Health. There are 12 authorized sperm banks and hospitals across the country, and 2 more in private research facilities. Only unmarried, healthy men under the age of 30 are allowed to donate sperm, and they are financially compensated for it. Men who want to donate must get to the hospital, pass an interview and blood-checks, cryotip and DNA checks. They are also prohibited from donating sperm in more than one sperm bank and they can donate a limited times (usually up to 10 children from one donor). Finally, anonymity is kept indefinitely; the donor would never receive information regarding offspring, and vice versa.
New Zealand In New Zealand, a voluntary policy law by fertility clinics limit one donor to "fathering" a maximum of 10 children to four families.
Around 1996–97, fertility clinics in New Zealand voluntarily agreed they would only accept donations from non-anonymous donors. The Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004 legislated that all donations made on or after 22 August 2005 must be non-anonymous.
Norway Clinics in Norway have a maximum of eight children per donor. On 7 February 2020, the law changed. No limits on number of children per donor, but limited to only six families. Nå er maksgrensen på barn per sæddonor fjernet i Norge
Spain The law provides that there must not be more than six births per donor. The same law applies to egg donations. Surrogacy is not allowed.
Sweden In Sweden, a donor may give a child to a maximum of six couples. However, each pair may have a sibling in addition. Thus, the limit is 12 children per donor.Sahlgrenska Hospital's sperm donor information (Swedish) Nevertheless, the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) recommends a maximum of 6 children per donor.SOSFS 2005:17, Ändring i föreskrifterna och allmänna råden (SOSFS 2002:13) om assisterad befruktning (Swedish)
Artificial insemination by donor was previously done only if the woman was married or in registered cohabitation, and required written consent of the spouse or partner. This law has now changed allowing single women access to state funded fertility treatment although long waiting lists may prove prohibitive.
Sweden was the first place in the world to ban anonymous gamete donation, doing so in 1984. Donor conceived people have a right to request information about the donor from the age of 18.
Switzerland In Switzerland, sperm donation is only allowed for married couples—not for unmarried couples or singles. A donor may give rise to a maximum of eight children.
UK The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) sets a limit of 10 families within the UK which can be created using the gametes of one donor. However, there is no limit to the number of children who may be born to each such family from the same donor. A donor may set a lower limit and may impose conditions on the use of his sperm.
The HFEA allows donor conceived people aged 16 and older who were born after 1 August 1991 to request information about their half siblings conceived from the same donor. At 18, they can join the HFEA's Donor Sibling Link, which allows donor conceived people to find their genetic siblings and share contact details. Requested information does not include information about siblings from the same donor born abroad, so it may not tell the DCP their total number of genetic siblings if the sperm was imported or exported.
Donor conceived people in the UK have the right to know the identity of the donor when the person reaches the age of 18, if treatment was in the UK and conception occurred after March 31, 2005. Donors who donated between 1 August 1991 and 31 March 2005 can remove their own anonymity. Despite fears in the medical profession, the number of donors actually increased after anonymity was removed. In 2007, a parliamentary committee recommended that birth certificates include the identity of the donor, but this has not yet been legislated.
United States